Clause 4 - Length of licence
National Lottery Bill
12:15 pm
Hugo Swire (Shadow Minister (the Arts), The Family & Culture, Media & Sport; East Devon, Conservative)
My hon. Friend goes further than I would dare in suggesting that it might be the incumbent—but it could be. We will not know if it is the incumbent unless the Minister shares that information with us. He may say that it is privileged information, and that it could be prejudicial to the incumbent. One never knows what kind of information one will be given by Ministers.
My hon. Friend the Member for Windsor makes a good point. If it is the incumbent and the Minister is willing to act under pressure, whether from the incumbent or from anyone else, will that be done for reasons of logic—because the Minister and the Secretary of State believe that the previous licence was too short—or in response to the fact that there is only one bidder, and that the bidder is calling the shots? I suspect that my hon. Friend is hot on the trail of something, and it would be good if the Minister allowed the Committee to share whatever information he has.